Monday, July 7, 2025

Grasses Tag Tutorial

Hi stampers! It's a new Monday and we are back with a Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



This week we have a Play With Paint theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. Fun I hope you will join us! Since it is the first Monday of a new month, the team is showcasing products by a specific company/designer and this week it is Paper Artsy. You can find Paper Artsy's great range of products here. It is fun if you use their products for the challenge, but it is not a requirement. 

We also have a new guest designer and during July Thom Santilla will be joining us. He created a fantastic project for this week's challenge, don't miss it.

Layers of ink - Grasses Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a mixed media tag using watercolor paint, gouache and Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stain. The tag was stamped with two stamp sets designed by Alison Bomber: Winter Umbels and Winter Grasses. Just because the title is 'winter' doesn't mean that they are only for winter projects.

Paint the tag with watercolors.

I start out with a tag that I cut from paper that had been watercolored, to use up left-over paint.

Add Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stain.

Mist the tag with water and sprinkle In the Navy Infusions Colored Stain at the sky area and The Sage on the ground. I had already planned where the stamping would be and added less color there. Mist again with water to blend. 

Stamp with Paper Artsy Winter Umbels and Winter Grasses.

When dry, ink stamps from Winter Grasses and Winter Umbels with Distress Ink, mist with water and stamp.

Splatter with white gouache.

I stamped two sentiments on the background using Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery and covered them up with Design Tape to prevent splattering. Splatter the tag with Winsor & Newton Permanent White gouache.

Add Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Gunmetal Gems.

Distress the edges of the tag. Here you can see the cool effect of the Infusions Colored Stain. 




The white gouache will pick up some of the color of the ink. I made the ground area more visible with a colored pencil.

Stamp sentiments with Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery.

The main sentiment also comes from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery. I also added some mummy cloth and twine.


I tied the tag with mummy cloth, twine and ric-rac. 

Layers of ink - Grasses Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

Join us this week in our Play With Paint challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.



Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.





Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



Monday, June 30, 2025

Flower Vase Tag

Hi crafters! I have another project to share made with Simon Says Stamp new Friend Like You release.

 Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You.

Friend Like You is a fantastic new summer-time release, with so many different stamps, dies, stencils and other products.

Layers of ink - Flower Vase Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a tag with a flower vase standing on a table, using the Simon Says Stamp Wildflower Cuttings stamp set. The design could easily be turned into a card instead. 

Ink with Distress Ink.

Start by inking the tag. Use a strip of Simon Says Stamp Very Very Low Tack Tape to mask off the table. The aim is to get a straight line.

Stamp with Simon Says Stamp Wildflower Cuttings.

Ink the flower stamp from Wildflower Cuttings with Hickory Smoke and Rustic Wilderness, mist with water before stamping.

Watercolor with Distress Ink.

Watercolor the stamped image with Distress Ink. Smear the ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and pick up with a paint brush. 

Splatter with Distress Ink.

Splatter the leaves with a two shades of green Distress Ink.

Stamp the background.

I wanted the vase to stand on a patterned table cloth and stamped the table area with Tim Holtz Tiny Textures dot stamp. Mist with water before stamping. The background is meant to be looking like worn wallpaper and was stamped with a small stamp from Tim Holtz Fragments. Mist with water before stamping.


I messed up the sentiment stamping and redid one of the lines on inky paper, to get the same color as the table cloth at the top of the tag too. The sequins are from Simon Says Stamp Tidal Wave, also from the Friend Like You release.


Splattering adds subtle interest and a hint of more leaves.


Paint a shadow with Hickory Smoke and add white highlights to the vase to make it look more like glass.


Thank you for stopping by today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



Red Flowers Tag

Hi crafters! I hope you had a fun weekend! We did an outing to a little island yesterday.


Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.


This week we have a Red, Blue and/or White theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the lovely project by our June guest designer Wanda Hentges.

Layers of ink - Red Flowers Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

I made a tag with red flowers on a textured blue background, using products from Simon Says Stamp brand new Friend Like You release. It is a fantastic release filled with products perfect for summer-time crafting.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Delicate Wildflowers.

Start by die cutting Simon Says Stamp Delicate Wildflowers from left-over inky red paper. I die cut the stems from paper that I made with old book papers, stamps and gesso. It gives instant texture without being overwhelming.

Shape the flowers

Shape the flowers with Tim Holtz Shaping Tool Kit.

Emboss in Simon Says Stamp Dot Spiral.

For the tag, I used watercolor paper that had earlier been painted with watercolor paint to test out a color. Emboss in Simon Says Stamp Dot Spiral folder and then sand the dots slightly.

Stamp with Simon Says Stamp Mixed Labels.

The sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Wildflower Cuttings was stamped on a labels stamped with Simon Says Stamp Mixed Labels and die cut with the coordinating die. Fold over the edge and staple.


I added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Lilac Gems to the flowers, instead of the flower center that was a part of the die set.


You can also die cut the stems from old book paper. I really like the circular pattern of the Dot Spiral embossing folder. Check out my Blue Shark card for another tutorial using this embossing folder.


The stems were glued at slightly different heights, hiding the bottom of the stems behind the sentiment strip. 

Stamp with Ranger Archival Cobalt.

The second sentiment also comes from the Wildflower Cuttings set and was stamped with Cobalt Archival Ink. I also added some ribbons and twine.

Layers of ink - Red Flowers Tag Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.


Join us this week in our Red, Blue and/or White challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.



Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.





Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



Saturday, June 28, 2025

Blue Shark Card

Hi crafters! Simon Says Stamp has a brand new release called Friend Like You and today I am sharing a card that I made with some of the product.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Simon Says Stamp Friend Like You

The Friend Like You release is filled with wonderful, summery dies, stamps, embossing folders, inks embellishments and tools. So fun!

Layers of ink - Shark Baby Card Tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson.

My youngest loves sharks and these are meant to be little blue shark, one of his favorites. The background is watercolored, with an embossed sheet of acetate on top. There is some space between the acetate and the background, making the card look 3-D.

Stamp Simon Says Stamp Snappy Birthday.

Stamp a bunch of sharks from Simon Says Stamp Snappy Birthday on watercolor paper.

Paint with watercolors.

Color them with watercolor paint. I also stamped a few more, but didn't color all of them. Cut them out with scissors or with the coordinating dies.

Emboss acetate in Simon Says Stamp Dot Spiral folder.

Emboss acetate in the new Simon Says Stamp Dot Spiral folder.

Add stickles.

Add Star Dust Stickles on the back of the folder, following the shapes of the circles.

Paint background with watercolors.

I painted a simple underwater background using the same colors as for the sharks.

Splatter with gouache.

When dry, splatter with Permanent White gouache at the top and dark paint at the bottom.


I adhered the sharks with Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Perfect Foam Tape, for more dimension.


The acetate panel was adhered to the watercolor background with staples. Here you can better see the shape of the embossed circles. It is a really cool. Almost like waves.

Adhere shark with foam tape.



The sentiments also come from the Snappy Birthday set.


The glitter adds a fun touch behind the embossed acetate. The shiny acetate also gives the card a water feel.


The final little blue shark.






Thank you for visiting! See you again tomorrow!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.